380 wallther ppks

This is a discussion on 380 wallther ppks within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; very first post I was wondering what you people thought of this gun ,is it worth buying. Thank you...

I personal only wanted to get one so I could shoulder carry it ala 007 ( all though ironcly they are crappy guns to silence)

They are good ban state guns to as they are heavy enouge to use semi accruat for HD and since they only hold 7-8 rounds they are great if can only have 15 or 10 rounds . So good choice there

And they are easy to take down and clean which is nice

Also as a side note I hear the 32acp version are very nice being made original for that and all . And 32acp is a nasty round for what it is . Esp euro loads and powerball and of course the old banned 80s AP rounds

The PPK/S can be finicky with regard to feeding some ammo brands and bullet nose configurations and the pistol always seems to work best with factory magazines.
I would also invest in a lighter weight recoil spring because (in my opinion) the factory recoil spring weight is slightly overly heavy for the cartridge that it is chambered for.

I have a German 1960's model. It's a great gun to shoot however the reliability is questionable. Pole around the Walther forums for a bit. It's not unusual to have lots of stove pipes and double feeds. Mine does not seem to be ammo specific.

There are many better choices for carry. 380 is a minimum impact round and the ppks is a heavy weight for its size.

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."
"People crushed by law, have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing to lose, will always be dangerous." - Edmund Burke 10-08-1777

I have a German 1960's model. It's a great gun to shoot however the reliability is questionable. Pole around the Walther forums for a bit. It's not unusual to have lots of stove pipes and double feeds. Mine does not seem to be ammo specific.

There are many better choices for carry. 380 is a minimum impact round and the ppks is a heavy weight for its size.

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."
"People crushed by law, have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing to lose, will always be dangerous." - Edmund Burke 10-08-1777

What would make a better choice for carry? For who? Is this opinion or fact?

Fair enough. It is my opinion that:There are many guns that eat ammo reliably.

It is my opinion that: The Walter (even the new ones) do not.

I have experience with 2 Walther ppks'

1 I received as a gift from my grandfather. The German one and My neighbor had new one made by s&w.

we are very close because we both love our walthers however neither are reliable. His less than 2 year old s&w had the same issues as mine regardless of ammo.

It has been sent back for service as well as been seen by the smith. I have tried at least 7 to 10 different ball ammo options through mine and he has ran just as many through his. Never mind hollow points Walther ppks' so not feed hollow points well. (Fact)

The Walter forums are riddled with this same info. I love my Walther. It is by far my favorite gun.

I have consulted the Walther forums on what type of ammo and possible fixes. None have been successful. I have even sent it off to a Walther specific gun smith in another state. He replaced all the springs and went through it inside and out.

I was able to go to the range twice without issue. The next range trip she is a jam o matic again. I have 600 bucks in my free gun trying to work the bugs out. My friend had about 300 in his new gun trying the same. S&w has not been helpful. They keep sending it back saying it was in spec and nothing is wrong with it. He finally gave up and traded for a new glock.

So it is my opinion that the ppks is not the best choice for carry.

What is the best choice however, is a matter of opinion. In my opinion The Walther is not it.

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."
"People crushed by law, have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing to lose, will always be dangerous." - Edmund Burke 10-08-1777

I had an Interarms PPK/S many moons ago. It was a decent little pistol, but heavy with the all steel construction. Can't put a value on the James Bond factor, but it was there.

I've had really good luck with the Bersa Thunder pistols. Similar to the PPK, but lighter for carry. I've yet to find anything that the Bersa Thunder 380CC will not eat. Sights are crappy, but they are fine for 7 yards or less.

Question for the 238 fans. Do you carry cocked and locked? I gave up carrying the Mustang Pocketlite when my appetite for cocked and locked pocket carry waned.

I have an Interams PPK/S that I bought new in 1984. I have occasionally experienced FTF at the range but nothing like what is described in Daffy's post and mine will shoot hollowpoints (although I mostly carry it with FMJ). My EDC gun is a Glock 19 so I only carry the PPK/S on days where dress code makes it easier to conceal than the Glock. As noted by others in this thread it's an all metal gun and therefore not the lightest gun for its size and IMHO it's too big for pocket carry (not sure if that's important to you).

As this gun was my 'first' it holds a special place in my heart and I'd never sell it although if I had experienced the level of trouble that Daffy has described I expect I'd feel differently.

I have heard of few problems with German roll marked, French manufactured PPK's and PPK/S's. I suppose there will always be problems with any make and model, but generally, the imported ones run much better than their licensed counterparts made here.

I've never owned a German model that wouldn't run. Even my Interarms model became reliable after switching to Silvertips and about 500 rounds.

Sellier & Bellot and Fiocchi have always been my ammo choices for the imported PP series.